LondonMetric splashes £116.6m on shed portfolio
LondonMetric Property has bought a portfolio of 14 regional warehouses for £116.6m from Cabot Properties, including assets in Bolton and Warrington.
The purchase price reflects a yield of around 6.6%.
In Bolton, LondonMetric now owns a 274,000 sq ft warehouse on Great Bank Road, while in Warrington, a 70,000 sq ft building at Calver Quay, split into two units, has been purchased.
Overall, the portfolio is made up of 1.3m sq ft of warehouses, “in established distribution locations where there is excellent motorway connectivity and strong occupier demand”.
The portfolio let at an average rent of £5.50/sq ft. Over 60% of the £7.2m income is from retailers and third party logistics operators including DHL, Howdens, Unipart and Royal Mail.
Andrew Jones, chief executive of LondonMetric, commented: “Following recent non-core disposals of Milford Haven, Loughborough and Marlow totalling £116.3m, we are pleased to have re-invested the sale proceeds into the distribution sector within such a quick timescale.
“The urban logistics market continues to benefit from a highly favourable demand/supply imbalance and this acquisition further increases our critical mass in this sub-sector to over £260m across 38 assets. The acquired portfolio is fully income generating and offers good opportunities to extend lease lengths and capture strong income growth.”
LondonMetric was advised by JLL. Accord Capital Partners, along with its affiliate, Accord Europe, served as exclusive global capital advisor to Cabot Properties.